Moving on, letting go
by wildcherry32
Summary: Greg decides the time has come, time to let go of his feelings for Sara, time to move on. Sandle.
1. A change would do me good

Disclaimer: I don't own anything, not CSI, not Sara and not Greg (although I wish I did).

A/N: Possible spiolers for 'Gum Drops'. I'm new at this, be kind- _please_.

Summary: Greg decides the time has come, time to let go of his feelings for Sara, time to move on.

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Chapter 1 - A change would do me good. 

He didn't know what happened in Sara's room that night, he didn't want to know… it was none of his business anyway. All he knew was that it was getting harder to work with her, to keep up the pretence that he hadn't seen a thing… That he hadn't seen Grissom exit her room as the sun rose, he hadn't seen him slowly lean in to kiss her. That he hadn't looked away knowing this private moment was not for his eyes, and that in that moment his heart hadn't broken and shattered into a thousand pieces. That he hadn't crawled back into bed and faked being asleep as Grissom entered their room…

Now almost four weeks later his veil was wearing increasingly thin as the pain ate him up inside… He'd finally made a decision and at the end of shift he slowly made his way to Grissom's office, tapping on the door frame as he entered. 'Hey Grissom, you got a minute?' He asked in a low tone.

'Sure… What is it?' He replied, his eyes never leaving his latest experiment.

'I've been thinking… and well, this past year having Sara as my mentor has been great, but… well um… I think I could learn more if I was paired up with someone else for a while. Nick, Warrick or maybe even Cath, since I've barely worked with them at all yet.' He shrugged.

'Okay?' Grissom removed his glasses and looked up at the younger CSI for the first time. He hadn't been himself in the last few weeks, it was obvious to everyone that something was troubling him, although no one knew what. 'Is everything alright Greg? You and Sara haven't argued have you?'

'No!' He spat out a little too quickly, before correcting himself. 'Um, no. I just think a change would do me good, and like I said I could learn a lot more by working with different people.' Greg avoided Grissom's eyes and fumbled with his shirt sleeve.

Grissom didn't believe him, Greg wasn't a good liar and could be read like a book. 'Fine, as of tomorrow you'll be teamed with Nick if that's what you really want.'

'Yeah, it is…Thanks…' He said quietly, still avoiding Grissom's gaze. 'Well, I um… guess I'll see you tomorrow night then.' With that he turned and walked away, he didn't notice the look of concern on Grissom's face as he exited the room.


	2. Say goodnight not goodbye

Disclaimer: I don't own anything, not CSI, not Sara and not Greg (although I wish I did).

A/N: Okay, TPTB decided not to use the scene from 'Gum Drops' that I'd been expecting, so this fic is no longer spoilery. Just so you know, I've been listening to a lot of Sara McLachlan to be able to write this, so you'll probably guess the mood of this chapter and what kind of mood I'm in…

BTW- the chapter's are all song titles, some of them twisted a little to fit the story.

**Kegel**- Can't promise that the chapters will be longer, some will be and some wont...who knows.

**ObessedTWFan**- Most forums have a spoiler section... but like I said 'Gum Drops' changed a lot anyway, due to WP's absence.

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Chapter 2 - Say goodnight not goodbye.

It was three days now since he'd been to Grissom and requested a change in partner, three days since he'd seen her, three days of avoiding what he knew was to come. Now it was here, she was here- heading straight for him. It was almost the end of shift, he and Nick had wrapped their case and reports had been filed. He'd almost made it another day… but not quite.

'Hey Greg.' She said softly as she entered the break room, closing the door behind her.

'Uh… hey.' He replied without looking up as he nervously flicked through the latest forensic journal.

'Long time no see, huh? Seems like forever…'

'Not really…' He cut in, ' Just three days, not long at all.' He said nonchalantly, as though he hadn't been counting them at all.

'It is when someone was supposed to be your partner…' She sighed heavily, momentarily looking away and folding her arms defensively across her chest. 'Look I know what you did.'

'What I did?' He questioned, looking up for the first time and letting his eyes meet hers.

'You asked Grissom to partner you with someone else... Did I say or do something that upset you?' She asked, clearly upset by what he'd done.

'No…' He felt guilty and his voice shook. 'H-how did you know?'

She sighed. 'Well, Nick noticed you hadn't been yourself lately and when Grissom partnered you with him instead of me like usual, he asked if there was a reason behind it. Grissom told him what you said, Nick was concerned and told me everything… Nick's a good friend.'

'Damn! You weren't supposed to find out… at least not like this.' He sighed, throwing the magazine he'd been pretending to read down on the coffee table.

'Why would you do that? I thought we were friends.' She sat down next to him on the couch.

'We are…' He looked over at her and swallowed hard, seeing the hurt and confusion in her eyes.

She didn't say anything, just stared, waiting for an answer.

'You've done a lot for me Sara, but sometimes there comes a time when you just have to move on… there is only so much you can teach me.'

'Oh Greg, is that it?' She laughed and rolled her eyes. 'It's not like you've got a whole lot more to learn… you've been doing really, really well… You don't even need me to be your mentor anymore, it's just that I thought we worked well together.' She put a reassuring hand on his leg.

He quickly jumped from the couch and walked to the other side of the room. 'C'mon Sara… You don't want to be with me- w-work with me the rest of your life do you? We work with all these amazing CSI's who are your equal… or superior… W-who can challenge you, who bring out the best in you. I'll just hold you back.' He shook his head, trying to keep control. 'You'd be much better working with someone else… someone you don't have to explain everything to.'

'Really Greg, I love working with you! You continually challenge me, and amaze me by how fast you're learning… I'm so proud of you. Greg you're gonna be great…' She smiled her biggest smile at him, hoping he'd return the favour.

He just stared, her smile took his breath and he couldn't move- he knew this was going to hurt.

Her face fell when he didn't respond, it dawned on her that his lack of confidence in himself wasn't really the problem. 'Greg?' She got up and moved toward him.

'Don't!' He put up a hand indicating for her to stop.

'Wh-whats wrong?' She asked, confusion written all over her face.

He opened his mouth and spoke with all his heart. ' I love working with you too… Sara you're an amazing woman, an amazing teacher, I've learned so much from you… that really means a lot to me.' He choked back the tears that were beginning to fill is eyes. 'But now I just need to break loose… to- to cut the ties that bind and be me again. I cant hang on like this for ever… I- I need new challenges, I need to be pushed, I need something new- to move on…

Sara's eyes began to swell as tears filled them, her emotions starting to take control. Greg walked over, gently taking her hands in his.

'Sara you're so special, you'll never know how much you mean to me… You've offered me encouragement every step of the way, even when others doubted me, you believed in me. I owe you so much and you know I'd do anything for you... But- but right now I just need you to let me do this, to let me go…' He took a deep breath as he struggled to hold on. 'Trust me this is for the best… I-I'm sorry.' He let go of her hands and slowly walked away.

He walked out of the room without looking back, leaving Sara alone and in shock. The pain in his eyes had said it all… he was saying goodbye.

TBC

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A/N: Hope you liked Sara's reaction to the news and you didn't find the whole thing too sappy. Later chapters should be a lot less, um... deep (if that's the right word- I dunno). Although I have the whole fic planned out, I'm not the fastest writer so it may be a few weeks until I update... sorry. 


	3. Beautiful geek

Disclaimer: I don't own anything, not CSI, not Sara and not Greg (although I wish I did).

A/N: Firstly I'd like to apologise for taking so long to update. Secondly- forget Wendy, the new DNA girl is called Cindy. I've written Cindy how I had originally pictured Wendy to be (from the spoilers). I didn't like her at first but she's starting to grow on me a little, that's partly the reason why I'm not using her here.

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Chapter 3 - Beautiful geek.

She was here, in his lab. Well, technically not his… not anymore anyway. Soon it would be all hers and he would be back out in the field full time, a place he felt he now belonged. The former lab rat had been returned to his cage since Wendy took the job on days almost a month ago and he'd covered between the various temps that came and went. That was all going to change now she was here, the new rat Cindy. She was still a little green and had needed guidance at first, but she was good and caught on quickly which made the transition easier. She was also fun to be with, intelligent and eager to learn, the bubbly blonde packed a whole lot into her short frame that's for sure.

Cindy had arrived a few days after Greg and Sara had talked, she hadn't seen the two of them the way they were before, she couldn't know anything was wrong… Now almost a week had passed and so far both Greg and Sara had done a good job of avoiding each other whenever possible, he'd found it a hell of a lot easier to do now she was doing the same. The rest of the lab noticed things were different between the former partners, but no one mentioned it to either of them, acting as though nothing had changed, like she was never his mentor- like they were never friends. Everyone knew something was wrong, they just didn't know what.

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By the end of the fourth day Cindy had settled in and Greg returned to the field, leaving her in the lab on her own. She was coping well enough with the workload but she was finding it lonely, she hadn't quite realised what she was getting herself into. Before she'd joined the lab, Cindy had worked at a blood testing facility along with several other people, she'd always had someone to talk to but the process was monotonous and she'd come to find her job very boring… That's why she decided to make a change, she wanted excitement so when the position at the crime lab came up she jumped at it. What she hadn't realised was that for the majority of the time she'd be on her own and that she'd be so very busy. The workload was astounding and initially she'd struggled to keep up, _thank God for Greg _she'd thought as he'd fixed one of her early mistakes- he'd been on hand to help her settle in and even now still stopped by to help out more than he should. She wasn't complaining- after all he's cute, charming and fun to be with. What more could a girl want?

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Catherine was working a double homicide with Nick, and it was a tough one… They had a guy in custody but the little evidence they'd recovered at the scene was proving too inconclusive to charge him with, the case was relying on a tiny spec of blood which was found to be out of context with the rest. Catherine was getting increasingly agitated… there was something about the guy that quite simply, creeped her out. She headed to the DNA lab, where she found Cindy alone doing paperwork. 'Hey Cindy, do you have those results for me yet?'

'They'll be ready in just a minute.' She said, pointing over to the GCMS.

'Okay… so Cindy, how've you found your first week?'

'Hectic! I've hardly had time to think.'

'Yeah it's been a tough one, but I promise they're not all like this.'

'Oh, thank God!' She sighed, making Catherine smile. The GCMS beeped and Cindy walked over to retrieve the results from the printer, looking them over before handing them to Catherine, 'Here, the blood's match for your suspect.'

'Yes!' She exclaimed loudly out of pure relief, 'Now we've got enough to charge him.' She smiled, taking the file as she turned to leave. 'Thanks!'

'Catherine, do you have a minute?'

'Uh… sure.' She stopped and turned to face Cindy again.

'Can we talk, you know… woman to woman?'

'Okay… what do you want to talk about?'

'Well, Greg…'

'What did he do?' Catherine rolled her eyes, and walked back towards Cindy.

'Oh, no… nothing. It's just… do you think he likes me? I mean he flirts with me… but I've been wrong before, so…'

The redhead laughed, a little relieved, 'Flirting is what he does… but really, I wouldn't know… you should ask him.'

'Oh, I could never do that…' She said blushing slightly.

'I'm sure you could.' She said quickly and smiled as she attempted to leave again, eager to get on with the job at hand.

'He's cute, don't you think?' She stated dreamily, only half concentrating on what she was doing, not noticing Catherine as she rolled her eyes.

'Well… yeah…' She mumbled, feeling a little uncomfortable.

'He's so funny, sweet and… geeky!' She giggled.

Catherine nodded her head and couldn't help but smile at that last comment, 'Yeah… Greg's definitely a geek'

'Don't you think geeks are sexy?'

Catherine was more than a little stunned. 'Oh… okay… I… um… I really have to get these results over to Brass- it's been nice talking with you though.' She hurried out of the room before Cindy said anything else she didn't really want to hear.

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A few hours later, Greg was alone examining photographs in the layout room, he was finding it hard to concentrate- he had other things on his mind. He'd found himself thinking about Cindy, but he didn't know how or why- there was just something about her. He'd been doing that a lot in the last few days, her bubbly personality was getting to him. He'd found himself thinking about Sara a little less and it was all thanks to her.

He wasn't by any means over Sara, the memories of what happened still played on his mind… Sometimes he regretted what he'd said, after all it had cost him his friendship, one that had been growing steadily, one that meant a lot to him… Maybe he should have kept his feelings to himself, at least then he wouldn't be in this mess. In the end though he knew he couldn't have carried on much longer, not after what he'd seen…

He'd had a crush on her for years, he'd even asked her out once and flirted with her all the time, but she'd never really responded to him. As they'd begun to spend more time together during his training, their friendship had changed and grown… and so had his feelings. His crush had evolved- he'd realised long ago that he was in love, in love with someone he couldn't have, with someone who didn't love him. For a while he managed to keep his changing feelings hidden, but it got too much after that morning at the motel when his heart had spilt in two… Sara had been his dream for so long, it wasn't going to be easy letting go.

Now Cindy was in the picture. They'd spent a lot of time together since she'd started at the lab a week ago, he'd begun to think that maybe she was the solution to his problems. She liked him that was obvious, all the signs were there… The way she leaned in close, way closer than necessary. The way she laughed even when the joke was lame. The way she played with her hair when they talked and agreed with every little thing he said. The way she reacted to his flirting and the way she flirted back… His head bas beginning to throb, he couldn't concentrate anymore and needed a break, so he abandoned the photographs and headed over to the break room to grab a quick coffee. On seeing Nick he decided maybe he should ask for some advice.

'Hey Nick, you got a minute?'

'Sure G, what is it?'

'Well, tell me what you think of Cindy?'

Nick put down the magazine he'd been reading, suddenly finding what Greg was saying way more interesting. 'She's hot, intelligent, great personality… did I mention she's hot?'

'Uh, yeah… Do you think she'd go on a date… with me?'

A smirk crept across Nick's face, 'I know she would.'

'How?' Greg asked and slowly sat down next to him, somewhat confused by Nick's reply.

'Well, Archie overheard her taking to Cath about you, then he told me…'

'Oh…' Greg could feel his cheeks starting to burn, 'Does anyone else know?'

'I don't know, but seeing how Hodges's been giving you dirty looks for the past hour… I'd say so yeah… Probably half the lab by now.' He nodded.

'Huh…'

'So… you gonna ask her out?'

'Yeah, I guess so.'

'You guess so? When?'

'I don't know…' He said, shrugging as he got up and walked over to get some coffee from the percolator, 'when the time's right, I guess.' He added, not wanting to sound too eager.

Nick shook his head at Greg's non-committal answer. 'Better move fast or someone else will beat you to it, remember she's hot…'

'Yeah, yeah- you said that already.'

'I'll say it again- she's hot…'

'Nick!'

'…. and I'll keep saying it until you get off your ass and ask her out.'

'You know Nick, you really have a flare for the dramatic…' He said as he poured the steaming coffee into a mug.

Warrick entered the break room and Nick turned to face him, 'Hey Rick, you noticed how hot that new tech is?'

'Who Cindy? Yeah, she's fine…'

Satisfied, Nick turned back to Greg, who had joined him again on the sofa, 'See?'

'He doesn't count, he's married.'

'Ahh… is this about Cindy taking a shine to our Greggo?' Warrick said flashing a smile.

Nick just looked at Greg.

'Okay! Okay! I'm gonna go now, jeez.' He got up and left the break room, taking his coffee with him.

* * *

A few days later, Greg and Cindy were again working together in the lab, the case he and Grissom were working on had a rush of DNA evidence and he'd offered to help out to move things along more quickly. He had other motives though, this way he got to spend more time with her.

He'd had a few days to think about how to ask her out, but no brilliant plan had come to him, so he decided to just get it over with. _Maybe she could be something… someone... _he thought, but he wouldn't know it he didn't try and it was now or never.

'Cindy…'

'Yeah…'

'Would you um… like to go on a date… with me?'

'Yeah, sure.' She smiled broadly, barely able to contain her excitement.

'Cool…' His voice croaking slightly, 'tomorrow before shift?'

'Sounds good.'

They continued their work and after a few more minutes of comfortable silence, Cindy spoke up. 'So… where are we going on our date?'

'I don't know yet, I haven't really thought about.'

'Ahh- spontaneity, I like it.' She smiled.

He smiled back, 'Okay, lets say I pick you up at six, and we'll go wherever the mood takes us.'

'I'd like that.' She smiled again and looked over at him, catching his eye.

He smiled in return and nervously averted his gaze… He didn't think he'd be affected like this again, not so soon... He felt happy for the first time in weeks, all thanks to the new rat Cindy. He hoped it would last…

Over in the AV lab watched a very angry and confused Sara Sidle.

TBC

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A/N: Don't worry, Greg's not gonna fall in love with Cindy or anything, I'm just using her as a prop. The next chapter won't be as long next time, it's almost done- just needs a little editing. 


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